Message from Ouita

We talked to Bing's parents in Buna, TX, 35 miles north of Beaumont
at the southern part of Jasper County. They chose not to evacuate.
Besides their home, they have a motor home with a generator and
another gas generator is hooked up to fan and deep freezers in house.
Several other families came to stay with them. They lost all of their
75 year old oak trees, but luckily none fell on the house or cars.
They have no power in the home, and had phone service until a line
was cut by clean up crews. They parked everone's cars in an open
pasture, so those are fine. The motorhome and one other car is
blocked by trees. They are almost out of gas for the generators. FEMA
and Red Cross are set up in a church in Buna, so they are going there
to get food, water and ice. They don't need the food, but you have to
take it all as a package. A close friend is staying with them because
her husband was in the Beaumont hospital and her was sent to a San
Antonio hospital and his wife wasn't allow ed to go. The hospital he
was in at Beaumont is totally destroyed. They can drive part of the
way to her house and then walk the rest of the way so they can shower and use her phone since she has phone service.

Bing is worried about how long they are going to be like that and the
fact he can't get in to help them - law won't let anyone in. Also we
don't know if we can buy gas to get home even if he manages to get
there. The parents are both almost 80. Their spirits are good so far.
I called a tree service in Austin to see how much it would cost to
send them down there to clear the trees. The man said there was
already one of their units down there, and they are going to contact
me back about helping my inlaws. I wish they had listened and came
here. Then I guess they would have been trying to return too soon to
check out damage.

Buddy, I didn't go by to see you Friday because we had a call from
one of his cousins that is a nurse in Jasper who was detained there
for her services. A doctor was flying her into Austin in his plane
and she was to stay with us, so I bought groceries and returned home
to cook because I thought we were going to have a house full. It
turns out her husband's family met her at the Austin airport and took
her to Bryan, TX. When I finally caught my breath to call Mathilde's
you had slipped off!

Happy Birthday to my cousin "Tidder" who doesn't look a day over
48!!!!!!!I better get back to work before I get in trouble.

-Ouita